Welding rod processing equipment



June 25, 1940. R MORRISON 2,205,628

WELDING ROD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT Filed Jan. 9, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 1 NVENTOR.

1 Jo/m 1904M; Mar/1500.

FIL -1- ATTORNEY.

June 25, 1940. J MORRISON 2,205,628

WELDING ROD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT Filed Jan. 9,1937 s Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VENTOR. la/m Raoh Norma/1 ATTORNEY.

June 25, 1940.

Filed Jan. 9. 1937 J. R. MORRISON WELDING ROD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 217 218 V 209 i 206 V 205 207 INVENTOR. Ja/m Ra4o/r Herr/son ATTORNEY.

Patented June 25, 1940 I UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 2,205,628 WELDING ROD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT I John R. Morrison, Hudson, Ohio Application January 9,1937, Serial No. 119,773

8 Claims. (01. 18-1) This invention relates to equipment for hanefiective at once when it is necessary to change dling and processing welding rods as they come rods during a welding operation. Also, the coatfrom an extruding machine, and for loading the ing on the core, which comes from the extruding rods onto a conveyor adapted to carry the rods machine in aplastic, soft condition, must 'be through a baking oven. baked to set and harden that coating. Welding 5;

While the invention is described in connection, rods ar m i ar q y and in a nwith welding rods, this serves as but one illustinuous production pIiOCe SS where the IOdS fOlIOW tration of the usefulness of the invention, other ne nother hrough the pr e i ps in,

equipment, useful f r handling and processing close sequence of successive rods. To handle the other articles of manufacture, having .substan- Volume o Production Without interruption, 16 0] tially the same mode of operation is contemwelding rods must be introduced to the equipplated Within the purviewof this invention. e for effecting the p oc s p e- Welding rods consist of a core of metal and a m n i n n a l r n pr in m coating of material. It is common practice to It is an Object of this invention to D O coat the core of the rod by passing the core d handling eq p w c op to e .5.1 through an extruding machine. The cores are range the rods i a predetermined manner a e 4 supplied to the extruding machine in continuous continuously to advance e 11I1if01m1y arran succession, the ends of adjacent rods abutting. rods, successively t0 d thrOllgh the processing The coating material is supplied to the extruding q p ent. It is also an o j of this invention machine in a plastic mass, and the machine opt p v qu pm r stripping a po t on of crates to coat the cores with a shell of the mathe coating from an en of h W l d to terial as the cores pass through the machine. provide for Cleaning e Weld 6nd Of the od/81 d As the rods issue from the extruding machine, t DTOVide equipment for continuously advancing the cores are in end to end abutting relation 'theWelding rods toand through the stripping and, and the shell of coating material connects the cleaning operations in a prede e egular .25

successive rods, The first operation i t sepaorder, and to effect these functions automatically. rate the rods. It is an object of this invention h invention is related o t lo d in. to provide equipment which automatically and y' p h DP i m l 3 7; continuously receives and separates successive filed November Conveyors-r h welding rods as they issue from the extruding application discloses convey q p ent forv do machine. moving welding rods in continuous. succession While, in the broader aspects of the invention, through an ,OVen Chamber Where the Coatingr is the direction of movement of the rods, for efbaked. It is an object of they present invention fecting separation, may be chosen arbitrarily, to provide eq pment for automatically l ad endwise forward movement of the rods is found rods onto conveyor equipment such as disclosed 335- practicable for effecting rod separation. In the in y (BO-pending pp t interest of space conservation and economy of It is an object of this invention to provide operation, sidewise movement of the rods, bythe equipment Which Operates, Continuously t0 rod conveyor, is desirable. It is an object of this ceive welding rods issuing from an extruding ma-'- invention to provide rod separation by endwise chine, to separate the successive welding'rods, to 40; movement, to provide for conversion of endwise arrange the welding rods me predetermin'edj rod movement to sidewise rod movement, incident order and position, continuously to advance the to loading a conveyor for conveying rods sidewelding rods to and'through stripping and clean-- wise ing operations and continuously to advance'the The welding rods must have a portion of the rods and to load those rods onto aconveyor 4g, coating stripped off so as to expose the core at such as disclosed in my co-pending application; one end of the rod. The bare, exposed core serves Other objects and advantages of the present as the electrical terminal for the welding rod to invention will appear in the following description which suitable electrical connections may be attaken in connection with the accompanying] tached in a familiar manner. The end of the drawings, in which:

rod, intended for contact with the weld, may have Figures 1, 2, and 3 are views, in a perspective some of the coatingqnaterial adhering thereto, illustrating successive parts of equipment emdeposited incident to the separating operation. bodying this invention. e The weld end of the rod should be bare and free Figure 4 is a View, in side elevation and sec- 55 of any adhering material so that the rod will be I tion, illustrating that part of the equipment-,1

, ries a sprocket I56]. 75'

which receives the welding rods issuing from the extruding machine and which separates and passes along those welding rods.

Figure 5 is a view, in cross section, illustrating the stripping and cleaning operations.

Figure 6 is a detail view, in side elevation, i1- lustrating the operation of loading the rod con veyor.

Figure 7 is a detail view, in section, illustrating a variation in the structure shown in Figure 1.

It is uniform practise to coat welding rods. Extruding machines commonly are used for that purpose. In the broader aspects of this invention, it is not limited to extruding machines for effooting the coating operation. Other devices, having modes of operation difierent from that of the extruding machine may be used for effecting the coating operation and may be combined with the other processing equipment herein disclosed, within the purview of this invention. The extruding machine has a characteristic mode of operation in that rods issue therefrom with endv/ise movement. This circumstance conditions the subsequent rod handling steps and equipment, as will appear in the following description. Other rod coating equipment, not characterized by endwise rod movement, may be combined with the rod handling and processing equipment, herein disclosed, without departing from the scope of the invention, broadly claimed, although a somewhat different manner of initially handling the rods issuing from the coating operation may be entailed. Coating technique inherently free of any connection between successive rods, and not requiring any rod separating operation are contemplated within the purview of this invention, as broadly claimed.

In Figure 1, welding rods I50 issue from the die I5I of the extruding machine. The construction and operation of the extruding machine both are conventional'and, therefore, are not disclosed in detail. The extruding machine operates to coat the rods with a shell of plastic material.

The issuing welding rods cling together at the adjacent juxtaposed ends due to the presence of the shell of coating material. And, the welding rods follow one another in rapid succession in abutting end to end relation. At this point, the 50 problem is to separate the welding rods and to start the successive welding rods in the sequence of movement as required by the exigencies of production and processing. Both objectives are effected by a belt I52. Since the rods issue from the extruding machine with endwise movement, it is convenient to effect separation of the rods by an operation of drawing the rods apart in lengthwise direction. However, except for the proximately following operations, subsequent handling and processing of the rods are not'contingent upon the direction of movement in the rod separating operation. Therefore, rod separating technique and equipment involving other than lengthwise movement of the rods are contemplated within the broader aspects of the invention. Belt I52 effects rod separation in lengthwise direction.

The belt I52 is trained over pulleys Ifi iand The belt I52 is driven at the pulley E5 by a pulley I55 mounted upon the shaft of the pulley I54. Belt I5! is trained over pulley I55 fixed on shaft I56] The belt I5! is trained over pulley I58 fixed on the shaft I55}, which car- Chain I 8! is trained over the sprocket I68 and over sprocket S52. Sprocket I62, fixed onto shaft I 63, supported in suitable bearings, is driven from a suitable source of power later to be described.

The direction of the movement of the belt i152 is indicated by the arrows in Figures 1 and i.

At one end, the belt IE2 is arranged in front of and slightly below the face of the die of the extrudingmachine. The welding rods issuing from the extruding machine project over and slightly above the adjacent end of the travelling belt I52. The rigidity afforded by the core of the welding rod supports the rod in this position until a length of core is substantially clear of the die. At that time, due to the plasticity of the coating material at the joint between the rods, the end of the welding rod, distant from the die, falls onto the travelling conveyor belt Due to the cohesion of the coating material, the joint between successive cores tends to persist. The rate of travel of the belt I52 is considerably greater than the speed at which the welding rods issue from the die. Consequently, when one end of a'welding rod drops down onto the surface of the travelling belt I52, the frictional engagement between the end of the welding rod and the belt causes the welding rod to be pulled free from the following rod. In order to insure provision of adequate frictional force in the region of contact between the end of an issuing welding rod and the surface of conveyor belt I5 the belt is provided with a special surface material. Soft rubber composition, sponge rubber for example, has been found to be highly satisfactory for that purpose since it affords the requisite frictional contact with the welding rod and is well adapted to the requirements of service for a conveyor belt. .The rapid rate of travel of the conveyor belt not only pulls successive is suing rods apart, but it also spaces successive rods from one another to an extent as required by the following handling operations.

The frictional contact between the soft rubher surface of the belt I52 and the end of an issuing welding rod tends to rub off and to mar that portion of the coating, whichfirst engages with the belt. However, one end of the extruded shell must be stripped off to provide for electrical connection, so that such damage to the shell may be rendered unobjectional by stripping that end of the rod to expose the core.

The operation of the belt I52 in separating the rods is but one illustration of technique and equipment for separating the rods issuing from the extruding machine, in an endwise direction. Essentially, the problem consists in severing the connection, afforded by the shell of plastic material, between rod ends, in spacing successive rods for convenience in subsequent handling, without important deleterious effects on the rod, particularly the soft, plastic coating. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that other devices, operating differently, may be provided for engaging the rods and pulling them apart in lengthwise direction and for spacing the succes sive rods. The combination of such alternative equipment with other parts of the rod handling and treating equipment, herein disclosed, is within the purview of this invention.

The movement of the welding rods when issuing from the extruding machine necessarily is in a lengthwise direction, the welding rods must be pulled apart, and the operation of separating the successive welding rods is effected to best advantage by pulling them apart in lengthwise direction, therefore, the first handling step provides lengthwise movement of the rods.

However, for reasons of economy of space and other reasons, which will become apparent in the subsequent description, it is desirable, in subsequent handling operations, to advance the successive rods in a direction transverse to the rods. Accordingly, the endwise movement of the welding rods afforded by the conveyor belt I52 next is converted to sidewise movement of the welding rods.

The coating on the welding rods is soft and plastic and handling operations are conditioned by the circumstance that the coating must not be marred substantially.

The problem of converting endwise to sidewise movement largely consists in effecting the change without compounding the two movements. Either, the endwise movement should be brought to an end before beginning the sidewise movement or the sidewise movement should be started with sufficient force and constriction as to override any momentum of endwise movement. In so far as the combination with the other rod handling and processing instrumentalities, herein disclosed, is concerned, theparticular mode of operation and form of equipment for effecting the change from endwise to sidewise rod movement may be varied widely, within the scope of the claims relating to such combination. The particular equipment disclosed herein effects that change by bringing endwise movement substantially to an end and then beginning sidewise movement. This avoids damage to the coating material.

To effect the conversion of the lengthwise movement of the welding rods to a sidewise movement, it is essential that the whole length of the welding rod be discharged from engagement with the belt I52 before such transverse movement of the welding rods begins, otherwise the combination -of the two movements would cause the welding rods to be arranged askew. This objective is satisfied by moving the belt I52 at a sufficiently high rate of speed to project the welding rods in flight from the forward end of the belt. To avoid spinning movement, the rods should be projected with sufficient velocity so that no great tilting of the welding rods can occur.

The flight of the welding rods projected from the forward end of the conveyor I52 is stopped by an abutment I64. The abutment I64 is arranged a distance from the end of the belt I52 not much greater than the length of the welding rods so that the distance of travel in flight will be small with a minimum chance for the rods to go askew. The ends of the welding rods strike the abutment I64, thereby arresting endwise movement, and the rods then fall vertically onto the surface immediately before that abutment. The abutment I64 may be faced with rubber, cardboard or some other material which receives the blow without imparting any substantial rebound. As the rods fall from the abutment I64 they are free of substantial endwise momentum and ready to receive sidewise movement without substantial resistance.

A conveyor belt I65 passes through the location where the rods I58 fall after striking the abutment I64. Conveyor belt I65 travels in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figure 1 and operates to receive and to convey the rods in sidewise movement. The conveyor belt I65 is trained over pulleys I66 and I61. Pulley I61 is fixed onto shaft I68, supported in suitable bearings not shown. Sprocket I69 is fixed on shaft I68 and. a chain I10 is trained over sprocket I69, over idlers HI and I12, andover sprocket I13 fixed on shaft I14. Power for driving the belt I65 is supplied from shaft I14 through the chain I10 to the sprocket I69 and shaft I68 of pulley I61. The supply of power to shaft I14 will be described later. Due to the nature of the transfer of the welding rods I50 from the conveyor belt I52 to the conveyor belt I65, it is inevitable that the successive rods will not be perfectly aligned and will lie more or less askew although the general distribution of the rods will be substantially transverse to the direction of travel of the belt 55. The spacing between the weldingrods transferred onto the belt I65 may not be uniform. And, the rods will not be in uniform endwise alignment.

To insure trouble-free handling of the rods in subsequent processing it is essential that the rods be uniformly spaced, lie in a uniform direction,

and be arranged in uniform endwise alignment.

In order to align the rods in uniform transverse direction the rods are discharged from the belt I65 onto a troughlike structure where the rods fall to the base of the trough and there are arranged in uniform orientation. Such a trough-like structure is indicated generally at I15 and consists, in part, of a plate, I16, supported in any suitable manner on the frame of the machine.

I11 is adjacent to, but spaced slightly from the surface of the belt I65 as it travels over the pulley I61. The rods discharge from the belt I65 onto the plate I16 as the belt I65 passes around the pulley I61. Due to the curvature of the belt at that location, and due to the more or lessaskew position of the rods on the belt !65, there is a tendency for the rods to tilt and roll sidewise in discharging from the belt I65 onto the plate I16. To prevent such an event, and to hold the rods more or less in alignment as they are'being discharged from the belt I65, guide structures indicated generally at I18 is provided. The structures I18 consist of chains I19 trained over sprockets I and I8I. Sprockets I80 are fixed on the shaft I68 and are driven in rotation therewith. Sprockets I8I are idlers mounted for rotation in a suitable manner. The chains I19 are disposed along the edges of the upper flight of travel of the conveyor belt I65 and move in unison with the belt. The chains I19 are provided with spaced projections I82, mounted upon the chain links. Sprockets I80 and I8I are of such size and are so located that, at positions adjacent to the Sprocket I8I the projections I82 are flush with or slightly below the surface'of the belt I65, and at locations adjacent to the pulley I80 the projections I82 extend well above the surface of the belt I65. Thus, as the chains I19 and the belt I65 move in uniso The plate I16 is stationary and the edge son, successive projections I82 rise from beneath the belt level at the sprockets I8I, and gradually move to positions where they extend more and more above the belt level as the projections approach the sprocket I80. The welding rods being advanced by the belt I65 are caught between the projections I82 and as the belt I65 passes around the pulley I61 the projections I82 serve to support and to restrain the rods from excessive askew movement. In fact, the projections I82 may serve to align, in a transverse direction, those welding rods which happen to fall upon the belt I65 in a nearly correct direction.

The projections I82 are spaced apart a distance which is large compared to the diameter of the rods so as to allow for the lack of unlformity in orientation, and spacing at this stage in the handling of the rods.

The guide structures indicated generally at I18 are not essential. The belt I95 serves to convey the rods Hit to the orientating means. Experience with equipment of this kind has demonstrated that, ordinarily, it will function quite satisfactorily without guide structures I19. Such guide structure, disclosed herein, is an additional feature which, in certain installations, may be useful as auxiliary means merely to aid the belt I (iii in the performance of its function.

As the rods I59 discharge from the projections I82 and belt I95 they fall on the plate I76 and roll downwardly and forwardly due to the inclination of the plate. The edge 193 of the plate I18 is juxtaposed to but spaced slightly from a belt I84 which travels in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1. As shown in the drawings, belt I3 3 is arranged at a steep inclination and that belt, together with the plate I15, provides the trough-like structure I75, the crevice of the trough being along the line of approach between edge I83 of plate I16 and the conveyor belt I9 3. The rods I59 roll along plate I16 to the bottom of the trough-like structure and there are orientated properly in a transverse direction.

The rods must be moved from the base of the trough-like structure in rapid succession to ac commodate the oncoming rods. Movement of the rods up the steep incline of the belt 84 and uniform spacing of the successive rods is attained by providing chains I95 and I86 along the edges of the belt I34, the chains I85 and I86 being trained over sprockets I97, sprockets I89 and sprockets E9 I, the sprockets on the distant side of belt I36, as viewed in Figure 1, being not shown. Sprockets I8! are fixed on shaft I'M and are driven therefrom. Thus the chains I85 and I86 move in synchronism with the chains H9 and the rate of supply of rods to and removal of rods from the troughlike structure I15 are the same.

The chains I85 and I85 are provided with projections which extend above the surface of the belt I84. As the rods I59 roll down plate I19 the ends of the rods lodge between successive projections I93 and the continued movement of the chains I85 and I86 carries the rods I59 up the incline of the belt I 84. The belt I84 moves in unison with the chains. The location of the sprockets I89 is such that the projections I93, in travelling from sprockets I31 and I88 to the sprockets I39, gradually sink below the level of belt I94. Belt I 84 continues its movement in a substantially horizontal plane and after the retraction of the projections I93 in the region of sprockets I89, the belt I84 supports and carries the rods in advancing movement.

Guides I94 and I95 are arranged alongside the chains I85 and I86 at a locationadjacent to the plate I76 and along the incline of the belt I84. Guide I94 is shown in dotted outline so as to facilitate the illustration of other parts, the guide being located to engage the near rod ends, as viewed in Figure l. The guides I94 and I95 are spaced far enough apart, at the bottom ends adjacent to the plate I16, so as to receive the welding rods even though the rods be out of alignment in lengthwise direction considerably. The guides I99 and I95 converge toward one another and toward the chains I85 and I99 respectively, in a direction from the plate I'IB up the incline of belt I84. As the rods are carried up the incline, the ends of any rods which are out of alignment engage with the guides I94 and I95 and are thrust endwise into alignment with the other rods.

Thus a uniform orientation, uniform spacing and uniform endwise alignment is provided for the successively advancing welding rods.

According to the foregoing description the rods are orientated, spaced, and aligned, in the named order. That order of such operations is not essential and may be otherwise, if desired. And, any two or all three may be combined into a single operation. Variations in the technique and structure for effecting those functions will be apparent to those skilled in the art, which variations are included in the broader combination of this invention, as claimed.

Figure 7 shows a modification. The plate H6 is arranged relative to belt I95 and chains I79 in the same manner as the similar parts, in Figure 1. However, plate I16 is provided with lips I'Ifi" which extend parallel to belt I16, in the direction of belt movement. The rods which fall onto plate I16 roll down against lips I'll-5 and are so as determined by lips I73, is such that the pro jections I82 will engage only one rod at a time, even though more than one rod be lodged on plate I'IIi'. This structure insures uniform rod spacing. The plate I'IG' may be mounted adjustably to vary the spacing of lips HG" from belt I65, to accommodate rods of various sizes.

The coating must be stripped from one end of the welding rod while the coating is still soft, that is before baking. That process is next in line in the mode of operation herein disclosed.

Removal of coating material from the rod obviously may be effected in a variety of ways and by various equipment. Since one of the objectives of this invention is to achieve economy of production by continuously advancing the rods through successive handling and processing operations without delay, it is desirable to strip the rods in the course of their advancing movement. To that end, the problem is to hold the rods securely while stripping and without interruption r of the advancing movement. Various devices for holding the rods on the conveyor belt may be provided. The action of the stripping device is conditioned by the movement of the rods. The device may be modified in its mode of operation to allow for the rod motion or the rod motion may be utilized to aid in effecting the action. One suitable form of stripping machine is described in the following, others being contemplated within the piu'view of the invention.

As the rods are brought to the stripping machine, they are uniformly orientated, uniformly spaced, and in uniform endwise alignment. Accordingly, for the stripping operation, it is necessary only securely to hold the rods while contiuously advancing them, to rotate end rod about its and to apply a stripping brush to the ends of such advancing and rotating rods, For that purpose, a belt I96 is arranged over the belt I84. The belt I96 is trained over pulleys I9? and I98. The shaft I99 of pulley I98 has a sprocket 290 fixed thereon and a chain 29I is trained over that sprocket and over the sprocket 292 fixed on the shaft 293. Rotation of the shaft 293 drives the belt I96. The drive for the shaft 203 will be described later. It will be observed that the ratio between the sprocket 209 and 292 is such that belt I 9S-is driven at a speed greater than the belt I89. The speed of rotation of shaft 293 is determined by the rate of travel of belt I84.

The pulleys I9? and I98 are supported for rotation in frame elements 204. Posts 295 connect with the frame 294, there being a pair of posts, one at each end of a pulley, for both pulleys, four posts in all. The posts 2 95 extend through bosses 206 onhousing 29?. The upper ends of the posts 2M are threaded as indicated at 298 and hand wheels 299 are screwed thereon. Springs 2H3 are arranged between the housing 29? and the frame elements 294. The posts 255 are freely movable through the bosses 296 and. the springs 2H1 resiliently hold the frame elements 295 in a lowermost position. By adjusting the hand wheels 2999, the spacing of the lower face of the belt I96 from the belt I84 may be varied.

The framework for supporting the rollers I91 and I98, has a rigid plate 2 arranged to back and to support the lower flight of travel of the conveyor belt I96, as shown best in Figure 5. Where the belt I84 extends beneath the belt I99, the belt I84 is backed and supported by a rigid plate 2I2 carried by the housing of the machine. The belt I95 may be of comparatively soft, resilient material such as soft rubber composition, so as not to grip the Welding rods so tightly as to mar the coating.

As the conveyor I84 advances, carrying the Welding rods I59 beneath the pressure belt I96, the engagement of the belt I96 with the rods causes the rods to roll along the surface of the belt I84, due to the higher speed to travel of the belt I95 as compared to the belt I84. At the same time, the welding rods are securely gripped between the belts I and I96 due to the support afforded by the backing plates M I and 2I2. The rods are inpredetermined endwise position'and the ends of the rods passbeneath the wire brush 2 I3 which strips off the coating at the end of the rod. The coating is stripped oil" the end of the rod. all around the core due to the fact that the rod is turned about its own axis by the rapid movement of the btelt I96 compared .to the belt I84.

The brush 2 I 3 is mounted on a shaft 2 I 4 which carries belt pulley 2I5. The brush is driven through belt 2 I6 trained over belt pulley 2-H fixed on the shaft of electric motor ZIB. The electric motor is mounted on the housing 297 in a conventional manner and the shaft 2M for the brush 2 I3 is supported in bearings 2I9 depending from the housing.

After leaving the stripping machine the rods are carried forward by the joint movement of belts I94 and I96. Belt I84 extends around pulleys 22I, 222. 223, 229, and 225. Power is supplied to the pulley 22I through the sprocket 226 mounted on the shaft 221. A chain 228 is trained over that sprocket and over sprocket 22 9 fixed on shaft 239 of reducer gear 23! connected with the power shaft I53. The power drive of the pulle 22I serves to drive the belt I84. The belt I84 drives the pulley 224 and thereby drives spocket I13 and sprocket I69. Thus the power for driving the belt 19 the chains I19. the belt I55. the chains I35-I86, the belt I95, all is derived from shaft 22? of pulley 229. This interconnecting drive maintains the various operating parts in proper co-ordination.

It will be noted that the ends of the rods I59 which first engaged the belt I52 when leaving the extruding machine, are the same ends which are stripped to bare the core of the welding rods.

Thus, any imperfections in the flux coating incurred by the operation of the belt I52 in separating successive rods issuing from the extruding machine, are of no consequence since that part of the flux coating is later stripped off.

When a welding rod is put into use it should be in condition to strike the instant it is applied to the weld. Coating material adhering to the weld. end of the rod may interfere with such action. If desired, the rods may be processed to clean the weld end of the rod. Figure 2 does not show such structure, such modification being illustrated in Figure 5. In Figure 5, a motor driven brush H3 is arranged to engage the weld ends of the rods, as the rods pass through the stripping operation. The mode of operation for effecting this processing is the same as that for the stripping operation, and reference is made to that description, in connection with the showing in Figure 5, for an explanation of the cleaning operation.

The rods now are ready to be baked. The next operation of the equipment of this invention is to load the rods onto a conveyor which runs through the baking oven. described in detail in my co-pending application, Serial Number 111,047 filed November 28, 1936, for Conveyors.

The conveyor is of the chain type. Parallel chains support the rods, near each'rod end. The conveyor carries the rods in sidewise movement. The chains are provided with projections which extend from one side of ea-ch'chain'and lie substantially in the plane of chain flexibility. Such chain structureis illustrated in Figures 3 and 6. The projections are spaced apart to provide, rod

Such a conveyor is receiving spaces, open at the side distant from betweenthe projections. The problem of loading such a chain conveyor is to lodge the rods within the spaces between projections.

When the belt I 84' passes around the pulley 22 I, the forward movement of the welding rods is continued by the chains 232 and 233. The chains 232 and 233 extend parallel toone another and are provided with projections 234 between which the rods I59 may lodge. The chains 232 and 233 are trained over sprockets 235, which are free to rotate upon the shaft 221. The sprockets 235 are adjacent to the ends of pulley 229. As the'rods I59 reach the location where the belt I84 begins its travel about the pulley 22I, the rods are engaged by the projections 23 5, rising toward the level of belt I84 as the chains 232;and 233 pass around sprocket 235 and carried forward, being supported by the chains 232 and 233. The sup- In the handling oper-j is secondary, the exigencies of handling, conversion of direction of movement, orientating, spacing, aligning, stripping, and cleaning being paramount. Accordingly, the spacing of the rods, in previous handling, is greater than that for the rod conveyor. The loading device must space the rods to accommodate'the conveyor. The

change in distance of rod spacing occurs at the transfer of the rods from belt I84 to chain 232 and 233, as may be observed in the drawings. To that end, the chains 232 and 233 are driven at a speed slower than belt I84, in such proportion, about one-half, as to allow for the difference in rod spacing.

The conveying element of the rod conveyor comprises two parallel chains 23'! and 238 each of which is provided with upstanding projections so arranged that a rod may be supported between the projections, at the ends of the rod, the rod lying across the two chains and being moved sidewise by the conveyor. Figure 6 shows chain 231. Each link of the chain is provided with a pair of upstanding projections 239 and a base 243, the ensemble affording a trough-like space 2M in which a rod may rest and be supported. The projections 239 are spaced apart far enough to permit free movement of the rods I52 into and out of the space 2M.

In returning from a course of travel through the oven chamber, to the loading station. chains 23! and 238 are trained over sprockets 242 and 243 shown diagrammatically, conveyor chains 231 and 238 extend around the sprockets 2M and 225 fixed on a shaft 256 supported for rotation in bearings in a conventional manner, not shown. Sprockets 2M and 245 are arranged in proximity to and between loading chains 232 and 233. The conveyor chains 23'! and 238 extend from sprockets 2M and 245 to and over sprockets 247 and 243. then around a pulley 249 and into the oven where the chains pass through a successive series of flights of travel in substantially vertical directions. The sprockets 241 and 248 are fixed on a shaft 25I which also carries a sprocket 252. A chain 253 is trained over the sprocket 252 and engages with a sprocket 254 fixed on the shaft 230 of the reducergear, driven by the power shaft I63. The drive of the sprockets 241 and 248 directly from the source of power insures that chains 24'! and 248 will be kept taut between the spockets 244 and 24'! and the sprockets 245 and 248. Along the horizontal flight between sprocket pairs 244-241 and 245-448 the rods are loaded onto the conveyor chains 23'! and 238.

The loading chains 232 and 233 extend around sprockets 255 and 256 fixed on the shaft 251. A sprocket 258 is fixed on shaft 25'! and a chain 259 extends from the sprocket 258 to sprocket 2B0 fixed on the shaft 25L The chain drive of sprocket 258 from the shaft 25! insures that loading chains 232 and 233 will move in unison with the conveyor chains 23'! and 238.

It will be observed that the sprockets for loading chains 232 and 233 are arranged relative to sprockets for the conveyor chains 231 and 238, so that the loading chains 232 and 233 are inclined slightly relative to the conveyor chains 231 and 238. As the loading chains 232 and 233 approach the conveyor chains 23'! and 238, the loading chains are above the conveyor chains. The rods supported upon the loading chains between the projections 234 are above the ends of projections 239, on the conveyor chains. The chains are arranged so that the projections 234 line up with projections 239 in a manner illustrated in Figure 6. It will be observed that the projections 234 are large enough to cover up a juxtaposed pair of projections 239 so that rods I59 cannot take up a position between a pair of projections 23% such as to catch on the end of a projection 239 as the rods are lowered into the space between projections 239. The drive of the chains, before described, keeps the projections 234 in position to cover up juxtaposed pairs of projections 239 at all times. As the loading chains progress, due to their inclination relative to the conveyor chains, the rods I58 gradually are lowered down into the spaces 2M of the conveyor chain. This movement continues until the rods are transferred from the loading chains to the conveyor chains. Fiu'ther travel of the conveyor and loading chains causes the projections 23 of the loading chains to drop below the conveyor chain thus freeing the loading chain from the rods I which have been placed upon the con veyor chain. Then the loading chains travel about sprockets 255 and 256 and return to sprockets 235 and 236 to continue the operation.

It will be observed that the projections 23!! on each link of the conveyor chains are inclined toward one another slightly. This inclination of the projections 239 is provided to permit travel of the conveyor chains about a pulley such as indicated at 249 where the projections are on the inside of the arc of travel.

Plates 2M and 262 are arranged beneath the loading chains and the conveyor chains respectively, as shown in Figure 6, and serve to support those chains, in the flight of travel where loading takes place, against sagging, thereby further enhancing the certainty of effecting the loading function without failure. The plates 26I and 262 are supported on the framework of the machine in any suitable manner, not shown.

Power for operating the equipment described herein is supplied by electric motor 210 operating through gear reducer 2'. A belt drive from the shaft 212 of the reducer to the shaft N33 is provided as shown at 213. As described before, shaft I 63 supplies power through chain IfiI to drive belt I52. The shaft IE3 supplies power through chain 2'14 to sprocket and shaft 275 which, through bevel gears 218, drives shaft 230 of sprocket 229 and sprocket 254. Through. chain 228, power is supplied in a manner before described for driving belt 284, belt !96, belt I55, chains I19, chains I85 and I85. Through chain 253 power is supplied for driving chains 23?, 238, 232, and 233 in a manner described before. The shaft I63 also supplied power through bevel gears 215 into the shaft 216 which operates the rod conveyor in a manner described in my co-pending application beforementioned. This drive system supplies power at a predetermined rate to the various operating parts of the whole system and thereby maintains those parts in predetermined co-ordination at all times.

The invention has been described with reference to a particular sequence of operations. Obviously, the invention is not so limited. Certain operations may be altered, eliminated, or rearranged in sequence. For example, the source of supply of rods may be from a stock, rather than directly from the coating operation. The initial movement of the rods may be in sidewise direction, obviating the necessity for converting endwise rod movement to sidewise rod movement. The operations of stripping and cleaning may be eliminated from the handling and loading sequence. Rods may be loaded directly from the coating operation or from a stock supply. Orientation, alignment, and spacing may be effected in various sequences and at various stages in the combination of operations. Other processing technique, of which stripping and cleaning are examples. may be substituted or added, and the operations of orientation, alignment, and spacing may be repeated at any stage during rod handling as may be desirable.

The invention'has been described in detail by way of illustration. It is not intended so to limit the invention. Variations in details of construction may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim as my invention is as follows:

1. In combination, means for feeding a succession of welding rods from a source of supply with sidewise movement in uniform orientation and in uniform endwise alignment; conveyor means for receiving said rods and continuously advancing the successive welding rods in sidewise direction, said rods having a coat of plastic material, a belt having a portion in spaced relation to the conveyor means to receive and to clamp advancing conveyor rods between the belt and the conveyor means, said belt portion and conveyor means having the same direction of travel," at least one end portion of each rod being exposed, a processing means including a motor driven brush arranged in the path of the exposed ends and operating to remove plastic material from the ends of the passing rods, and means for receiving the processed rods in succession and for maintaining the rods in spaced relation.

2. In combination, means for feeding a succession of welding rods from a source of supply with sidewise movement in uniform orientation and in uniform endwise alignment; conveyor means for receiving said rods and continuously advancing the successive Welding rods in sidewise direction, said rods having a coat of plastic material, a belt having a portion in spaced relation to the conveyor means to receive and to clamp advancing conveyor rods between the conveyor means and the belt, said belt portion and conveyor means having the same direction of travel, at least one end portion of each rod being exposed, a processing means including a motor driven brush arranged in the path of the exposed ends and operating to remove plastic material from the ends of the passing rods, said conveyor means and said belt having different speeds of travel so as to rotate the clamped rods about the rod axes, and means for receiving the processed rods in succession andfor maintaining the rods in spaced relation.

3. In combination, means for feeding a succession of welding rods from a source of supply with sidewise movement in uniform orientation and in uniform endwise alignment; a conveyor belt for receiving said rods and continuously advancing the coated welding rods in sidewise movement, a pressure belt arranged in spaced relation to the belt conveyor, the adjacent portions of the belts having movement in the same direction, there being backing means to support each belt at the distant sides of the adjacent portions, said pressure belt operating to engage and to clamp advancing rods on the conveyor belt with at least one end of each rod exposed, stripping means arranged in the path of travel of the exposed ends and operating to remove coating material at the rod end, the rates of travel of the belts being different so as to rotate the rods about the rod axes, and means for receiving the processed rods in succession and for maintaining the rods in spaced relation.

4. In combination with an extruding machine for coating rods, a rod conveyor comprising, an endless conveyor belt disposed in the path of flight of the rod as it leaves the extruding machine, a second endless conveyor belt normal thereto, a third endless conveyor belt aligned with the second named belt and disposed in oblique relation thereto, chains adjacent the edges of the last named belt, spaced projections on the chains, disposed in aligned relation with each other, a portion of the third named belt being disposed below the second named belt and spaced therefrom, a plate subjacent the discharge end of the second named belt and arranged substantially normal to the face of the third named belt, the free end of said plate terminating' slightly above the top of the projections on said chains, and means coordinated with the third named belt for stripping the ends of the rod thereon.

5. In combination with an extruding machine for coating rods in end to end relation, a rod conveyor comprising, an endless belt arranged to move in the path of flight of the rods issuing from the extruding machine, a second endless belt in juxtaposition with the discharge end of the first named belt and arranged to move in a.

path normal thereto, the linear surface speed of the second named belt being greater than the rate of translation of the first named belt whereby successive rods received on the second named belt will be spaced apart, a third endless belt aligned with and oblique to the second named belt and having .a portion thereof disposed subjacent the discharge end of the second named belt, projections on the third named belt for supporting the rods, received thereon from the second named belt in parallel relation and means coordinated with the third named belt for stripping the coating from the ends of the rods.

6. In combination, an endless belt for conveyingv rods in end to end relation thereon, a second endless belt disposed adjacent the discharge end of the first named belt and arranged to move in a path normal thereto, projections on the opposed edges of a portion of the second named belt for supporting the, rods in parallel relation to each other and normal to the axis of the belt, a third endless belt aligned with the second named belt and disposed in spaced relation thereto, a portion of the third named belt being subjacent the discharge end of the second named belt and inclined upward! therefrom,

projections on the opposed edges of the third named belt for supporting the rods in parallel relation to each other and normal to the axis of the belt, and a fourth endless belt associated with the third named belt and driven at a greater lineal speed than the third named belt for rotating the rods about their axis.

7. In combination, an endless belt for conveying rods in end to end relation thereon, a second endless belt disposed adjacent the discharge end of the first named belt and arranged to move in a path normal thereto, projections on the opposed edges of a portion of the second named belt for supporting the rods in parallel relation to each other and normal to the axis of the belt, a third endless belt aligned with the second named belt and disposed in spaced relation thereto, a portion of the third named belt being subjacent the discharge end of the second named belt and inclined upward therefrom, chains adjacent the edges of said belt, projections thereon for supporting the rods in parallel relationto each other and normal to the axis of the belt, a fourth belt superjacent a portion of the third named belt and moved at a greater lineal speed than the rate of the third named belt, brushes disposed adjacent the edges of said fourth named belt and engageable with the end portions of said rods and a plate for supporting the portion of the third named belt in the zone of said brushes.

8. In combination with an extruding machine for coating rods in end to end relation, a conveyor mechanism for said rods comprising, a belt disposed adjacent the mouth of the extruding machine and arranged to convey the rods thereon in end to end relation, a transfer belt adjacent the discharge end of the first named belt and disposed normal thereto, the last named belt being driven at a greater lineal speed than the first named belt whereby successive rods will be loaded in spaced relation upon the second named belt, a third belt aligned with the second belt and arranged in angular relation thereto, a portion of the third named belt being superjacent thedischarge end of the second named belt, chains adjacent the marginal edges of the third named belt, fingers disposed in spaced relation on said chains for supporting the rods falling from the second named belt in spaced parallel relation and normal to the axis of the belt, a fourth belt superjacent a portion of the third named belt, sprockets for said chains disposed in relation to said fourth named belt to effect the disengagement of the rods with said fingers after the rods are engaged with the fourth named belt.

JOHN R. MORRISON. 

